The Effects of Guided Reading Instruction on Elementary Students’ Accuracy and Comprehension

Abstract

Guided reading instruction has been and remains a topic of interest among English teachers and language instructors due to the increased exposure to various schools of thought on teaching reading. Reading is a complex interaction process between the reader and the text that involves decoding and comprehension skills. Understanding guided reading instruction helps ease teachers' and learners' teaching and learning processes. The purpose of this study was to determine if guided reading positively affects elementary students' reading accuracy and comprehension. Data was collected through the use of Fountas and Pinnell running records and anecdotal records of 40 elementary students and interviews with teachers. The running records provided quantitative data on students’ reading accuracy and reading comprehension. Anecdotal records and teacher interview provided qualitative data based on the students' reading behaviours. The findings revealed that most students progress in their reading levels and improved in their accuracy and comprehension scores after the implementation of guided reading while the analysis revealed no significant difference in the relationship between guided reading instruction and Grade 1 reading comprehension. Comprehension skills need to be reinforced in the reading instruction constantly to strengthen elementary students’ reading comprehension. The implications of this study are that teachers should take advantage of this small group-based reading instruction to meet the needs of every reader in their classroom. This awareness could help teachers make more informed decisions and ultimately help aroused more attention in this area for improvement in reading.